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JohnLim

Lesser Grass Blue butterfly.

Zizina otis, the lesser grass blue, is a species of blue (Lycaenidae) butterfly found in south Asia.

Zizina otis, the lesser grass blue, is a species of blue (Lycaenidae) butterfly found in south Asia.
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SONY ILCE-7R

settings

Aperture 14/1 ISO 200 Shutter 1/160 Focal Length 90/1

upload_date

Mar, 2018

Views

171

Likes

+12

Awards

People's Choice in Mirror Image Photo Challenge

Peer Award

Absolute Masterpiece

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Behind The Lens

Location

This picture of the Lesser Grass Blue butterfly was taken at my home.

Time

The picture was shot in the late morning. I spotted this butterfly resting on my glass door.

Lighting

To obtain a dark background, I shot with the lens resting on the glass panel of the glass door. I used a DIY diffuser on my on camera flash. What happens is the flash lights up the subject, but due to the low angle, there is no return bounce light. hence the surrounding areas appear black.

Equipment

I used the Sony ILCE 7R with a Tamron 90mm macro lens. Mounted on the camera is a Sony flash with a DIY diffuser. The camera was hand held.The settings were: ISO 200; f/14; 1/160 sec.; 90mm.

Inspiration

I always have my camera handy on my dining table. As soon as I spot birds or insects, I quickly take a picture. I have a garden and many insects, flies, butterflies etc often come into the house and when attempting to get out, they often land on my glass door. I like taking macros, and will take a picture of anything that is interesting.

Editing

I shoot my pictures in RAW, so I have to process the pictures. For this shot, it's mainly cropping and adjusting the image to be horizontal. I adjusted the lighting and definition. Slight tweak to the sharpness.

In my camera bag

When I do go out, I carry as little equipment as I can in my bag. Using this camera body, I usually have a 150-400 zoom lens on the camera, and in the bag, is my 90mm Macro lens. I have a pouch containing spare battery, extra SD card; hand blower to clear dust and a lens cloth. I also have a small spray bottle containing water to spray water on flowers etc. if needed.

Feedback

Capturing pictures of live insects takes patience. They have the habit of appearing suddenly and flying off quickly. Always have your camera in a handy place so that you can grab it for that precious shot. Before you press the trigger of your camera, look at the subject and the immediate surrounding area for the best angle and for your background. In macro photography, because the depth of field is very small, align if you can, the length of the subject with the plane of your camera so that you get as much of the subject in the focus plane.

See more amazing photos, follow JohnLim

JohnLim

JohnLim

Lesser Grass Blue butterfly.

Zizina otis, the lesser grass blue, is a species of blue (Lycaenidae) butterfly found in south Asia.

Behind The Lens

See more amazing photos, follow JohnLim

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